BT vs wired (in the same DAC) comparison?

[flz]

Many DACs these days come with bluetooth, such as the Chinese brands Topping, SMSL, Loxjie, Sabaj, Gustard & others. Many ASR forum members own such DACs. Just curious, have any of your compared the BT sound quality vs the USB input (which I presume is what you would use from a smartphone, tablet, or computer). How big of a difference is it in terms of sound quality?

It seems most 'audiophiles' think BT is a total joke if you want high quality sound. I have an AudioEngine B1 and I can't tell the difference between using it (bluetooth) vs my CD player. But I'm keeping an open mind. Maybe I have bad ears and/or the rest of my equipment isn't resolving enough.

 

[tifune]

If you check the BT dongle reviews here, Amir has run tests against different codecs showing the differences. It was either the ES100 or Qudelix review where he shows LDAC performance

 

[threni]

Many DACs these days come with bluetooth, such as the Chinese brands Topping, SMSL, Loxjie, Sabaj, Gustard & others. Many ASR forum members own such DACs. Just curious, have any of your compared the BT sound quality vs the USB input (which I presume is what you would use from a smartphone, tablet, or computer). How big of a difference is it in terms of sound quality?

It seems most 'audiophiles' think BT is a total joke if you want high quality sound. I have an AudioEngine B1 and I can't tell the difference between using it (bluetooth) vs my CD player. But I'm keeping an open mind. Maybe I have bad ears and/or the rest of my equipment isn't resolving enough.

All BT codecs are lossy. Whether you can hear the difference depends on you, your system etc. It can never be as good as wired.

 

[flz]

All BT codecs are lossy. Whether you can hear the difference depends on you, your system etc. It can never be as good as wired.

Indeed, I've done an online ABX test of lossless vs lossy (linked below) and could not tell the difference. I guess my ears just aren't good enough. Which explains why I can't tell the difference between BT & my CD player.

ABX High Fidelity Test list (digitalfeed.net)

 

[Katji]

How lossy / which lossy [?] Bt codecs vary, other lossy compression codecs vary.
Bt SBC seems < mp3 128 kbps. Bt aptX HD and LDAC, much less likely that difference from lossless will be noticed.

Whether the difference is noticed or not also depends on the type of music and the production.

It is not simply the ears, it is the mind. A trained listener as in cello player or trained singer or whatever will notice. But usually, if it is Bt, it is also a portable Bt speaker.

So you don't notice any difference in a test like that. What about "listening fatigue"? How about 2-3 hours, several days? ...The brain noticed.

 

[flz]

How lossy / which lossy [?] Bt codecs vary, other lossy compression codecs vary.
Bt SBC seems < mp3 128 kbps. Bt aptX HD and LDAC, much less likely that difference from lossless will be noticed.

Whether the difference is noticed or not also depends on the type of music and the production.

It is not simply the ears, it is the mind. A trained listener as in cello player or trained singer or whatever will notice. But usually, if it is Bt, it is also a portable Bt speaker.

So you don't notice any difference in a test like that. What about "listening fatigue"? How about 2-3 hours, several days? ...The brain noticed.

My comparison was done using Apple Music from both iPad (AAC) and Android phone (APTX-HD) streamed to an AudioEngine B1 vs an Onkyo C7030 CD player. Fed to a Teac AI-2000 int amp and Quad S2 speakers. I basically can't tell the difference between the 3. I sometimes thought the iPad sounded a tiny shade better than the Android phone but not sure if it was just in my mind. Also, never got listener fatigue from any of the set-ups.